Election Cake

The recipe itself calls for 2.5 Tablespoons of Brandy. I suggest killing the rest of the bottle as the results come in. In this case, straight out the bottle is acceptable.

The pre-revolutionary war version did not use a stand mixer

The article by Marian Burros uses two loaf pans.

The 1988 recipe contains pecans; this one has no nuts, unless I read it incorrectly. I'm going to make it with dried cherries, walnuts or pecans, and rum. Use less yeast for a longer rise time to develop the dough. I might melt some butter and rum and soak it a bit. Invite some friends over. Not much of a drinker but I might make an exception for this election.

I haven’t baked this cake yet, but I often substitute a half-and-half mixture of cider vinegar and apple juice for wine or spirits. If you mix the vinegar and juice before you start on the rest of the recipe, they will have blended themselves into a new liquid that will have the aroma of a fortified wine by the time you’re ready to use it.

Good choices would be blue and red fruit, e.g., dried blueberries and cranberries.

I made it last night as a distraction from the election madness. Now I'm eating my 3rd delicious piece here, still waiting for election results. It took much longer to rise, both times. I used more fruit (chopped dried apricots & dried raisins) and more brandy, maybe the rise was slower cause it was heavier from those additions. Regardless, this is a truly great cake, and, like preserving democracy, it's well worth the efforts!

A tube pan is a great alternative. If you search the internet for "10 inch bundt pan substitute", you'll find lots of charts with a variety of options. At the cottage years ago, we used a dutch oven or metal mixing bowl, with a foil covered (then lavishly buttered) toilet paper or paper towel tube or empty tomato paste can (foil covered and buttered). You can weight can w. anything heatproof. For bundt swirls you can roll up foil into rope shapes, lavishly butter, and place in bottom.

If the lemon doesn’t work for you, orange zest & juice might be a better bet. Orange goes well with those warm spices (I’d just strain the fresh juice to make it a smoother glaze).

Jess, I baked this last night and enjoyed the cake. It was moist and the 8T of butter seemed like the right amount of fat to me.

I prepared the recipe exactly as it said. Instead of dried cranberries, I had dried tart cherries. I think the consistency, spices, and flavor of this bread is wonderful.

I used less yeast (1 tablespoon) and let it rise overnight in the fridge and also soaked the raisins and cranberries overnight. Unlike in almost every other cake recipe, I did not reduce the amount of sugar and it is perfect.

Julia Felix— You could probably split the dough between two large loaf pans or two 12-opening muffin tins. I haven’t made this, so I’m not sure of the dough-to-pan relationship, but the ingredient list makes me think that either might work. And if it’s too much dough for even two loaves or 24 muffins, I think you could bake the extra dough in custard cups. If you try loaf pans, muffin tins, or custard cups, start testing before the 40 minutes specified. Small pans will bake faster.

I made with GF and oat flour, added 1/4 milk because the GF flour mix can be stiff and won't allow it to rise. I used 1 1/2 times the spices, and whiskey in the fruit, a bit more than called for. I had cherries and not cranberries, which worked. I served it to friends for an early morning gathering, and everyone liked it. The lemon and spice flavor is warming, and it's not too sweet. Also, I made it in 4 small, two cup loaf pans. This makes for small slices, the can be frozen or given to friends

I just made this cake using almond milk and Trader Joe’s vegan butter. It came out kind of crumbly and falling apart—similar to our democracy. Maybe there’s a better dairy-free option!